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Originally Posted by oscartango I was in a garda station in Clare a few years ago (giving a statement as a witness to an accident, I might swiftly add before the wisecracks start) and the place had loads of Catholic icons on public view - e.g. Child of Prague statue, Sacred Heart picture - as well as a crucifix on the wall.
I just wondered if it was appropriate, and what we might say if the PSNI had Protestant/Orange Order stuff in their public offices. |
I know some will say I have a double-standard for saying this, but the difference is that the RUC/PSNI has a history of being sectarian and discriminatory. As a result of its historically disgusting behaviour, it has a lot more work to do to clean up its image. It needs to do eveything it can to rid itself of all traces of sectarianism and religious bias. In addition, many of the Protestant icons you might have found would be clearly designed to incite hatred - King Billy portraits, OO sashes, etc. This is in contrast to the Catholic icons you cited above that you found in the Garda station in the ROI (e.g., Child or Prague statue). Those have nothing to do with the situation in the north, and are not anti-Protestant or lighting rods for conflict. Also, as DrBob1972 pointed out, the Garda do not clearly act out in an anti-Prod manner. It is a far more benign force, and as such they have far less work to do to make the other community comfortable with it. So I think your average non-Catholic in the ROI would have far less problem with seeing a status of the Virgin Mary in a Garda station than a Catholic would with seeing a King Billy portrait in a PSNI station, and for good reason.
That said, I think the Garda should be sensitive to the issue, and if complaints are raised they should be prepared to remove all religious icons from the stations (except for personal areas).